EC warns Nokia about trolling

Anti-trust is coming

If Nokia attempts to use its patents illegally in the future then the European Union will throw the book at it.

There had been fears that after Microsoft bought Nokia it would attempt to use the company to patent troll others to death.

However the vice president of the European Commission's Competition unit has warned Nokia that there could be big trouble if Nokia become a "patent troll".

Joaquín Almunia's bluntly said that if Nokia were to take illegal advantage of its patents in the future, he will open an antitrust case

Almunia said that the commission had dismissed the possibility that "Nokia would be tempted to behave like a patent troll" when it cleared the way for Microsoft to acquire Nokia's devices division.

But he warned that "if Nokia were to take illegal advantage of its patents in the future, we will open an antitrust case."

Currently Almunia is pressuring Google to stop punishing companies who do not pay to use its specialised search services - such as Shopping - in its organic search results.

"Google creates a link between getting the right to use material from other sites on its specialised search services and the appearance that these sites have on Google's general search results – a practice that allows Google to benefit from investments made by other firms," said Almunia.

"I have asked Google to sever this link to restore competitive incentives."